Fission and activation products appearing in nuclear debris typically include transition metals and rare earth elements (REEs). Separation and characterization of the transition metal and REE content of this type of debris (e.g., taken from dust near nuclear facilities or from the sites of nuclear or suspected nuclear explosions) can offer information regarding the provenance, trafficking, and enrichment of nuclear materials. Thus, the ability to perform rapid separations, for example, in a post nuclear weapon detonation situation, is an important aspect of national security. The characterization of fission and activation products can hold clues to the construction details of a detonated weapon, which can assist in the overall investigation of a nuclear event for the purpose of attribution of the attack. However, current chemical separation methods for fission and activation products can require liquid phase separations that can take as long as a week and result in significant amounts of waste.
REEs also find use in a number of electronic and other high technology devices. For example, iPods and similar devices can contain dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, and terbium. Fibre-optics and energy-efficient light bulbs can include europium, terbium and yttrium. Wind turbines and hybrid vehicles can also include various REEs. In view of growing concern over the increasing amount of waste from these types of devices, as well as due to increases in demand and rising costs for REEs, there is an increased interest in efficient methods for separating and recovering REEs, e.g. so that they can be more efficiently produced from REE-containing ores and/or so that they can be recycled from manufacturing or post-consumer waste.
Accordingly, there is a growing need for additional methods of separating, characterizing, and recovering rare earth and related chemical elements. In particular, there is a need for efficient and accurate methods that can be performed rapidly, that are easy to perform, and/or which are environmentally friendly.